The annual Standing Out in Our Field event is a great time for an even greater cause–funding scholarships for our medical school students.
If you were to ask Linda Holmes how she pulls off the annual Standing Out in Our Field fundraiser every year, she’d likely say, “It takes a village.”
“Without the community volunteers to bring in sponsors and attendees, and to help plan every detail of the event, we wouldn’t be able to do it. These people are so critical,” Holmes said.
And from the very first event in 2014, the village, as it were, has come together to raise more than $500,000 for academic scholarships over the past five years.
Holmes, the director of development and alumni affairs for the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, along with then third-year medical student, Steven Nakano, came up with the idea for Standing Out in Our Field in 2013.
Nakano, a neurologist who is currently doing a movement disorder fellowship at Georgetown University Hospital, found himself in medical school after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in 2005, which he followed by earning his bachelor’s degree and working as a research assistant for Rocky Mount Poison and Drug Center. It was there he worked with Marshall medical school alumnus Dr. Ray Kim, Class of 2000, who encouraged him to investigate Marshall’s program.
During his third year of medical school at Marshall, Nakano approached Holmes about a fundraiser combining his love for food with the free labor of the medical student community.
“The original idea was to auction off a dinner party at the dean’s home — a dinner for 10 prepared and catered by med school students,” Nakano said. “Linda Holmes, with a vision and gusto that I could never muster, turned a small, private dinner party into the spectacle that it is today.”
And so, the idea for a dinner for 10 turned into a social event to remember with more than 125 people attending the first “Standing Out in Our Field” fundraiser. Dr. Bobby and Eric Hardin-Miller donated the use of their 10-acre farm in Proctorville, Ohio, for the affair.
Miller, Class of 1997, is the vice dean of medical education at the medical school as well as a neonatologist. He also completed his undergraduate studies and residency at Marshall.
“Marshall has been good to us and we love giving back,” Miller said.
The couple has offered the use of their farm every year since the inaugural event.
This year’s theme was a Western Round Up and previous events have featured Brazilian, Jamaican and farm-to-table themes, with live music from Santa Cruz and northeastern Ohio group The Jillettes, featuring Dr. Donnah Wolodkin Whitaker, Class of 1984.
Not only did the first year draw a sizeable crowd and raise $80,000 for the Scholarship Campaign Endowment at the medical school, but Holmes said the event raised awareness and allowed guests to meet the medical students they were helping.
“We felt like it would bring attention to the medical school and allow people to meet these hard-working students,” Holmes said. “We also hoped they would realize that being a sponsor and attending the event was helping us provide scholarships for the students who, unfortunately, are leaving medical school with a six-figure debt. We are doing everything we can to provide more scholarships so our graduates don’t feel like they have this huge financial burden on their shoulders.”
Aside from raising money that first year, Nakano said he remembered how the community came together to make it a success. He said it epitomized his experience at Marshall.
“Standing Out in Our Field extends far beyond the money that it brings in to support medical student education in Huntington,” Nakano said. “The community that makes Marshall special shines brightest under a big white tent, out in the country, under the stars, amongst good food, friends and music.”
From that inaugural event, Standing Out in Our Field has continued to grow in size and support. Holmes said that attendance has quadrupled since 2014 to more than 500 guests, thanks in large measure to dynamic community leaders like past co-chair Terry Deppner Hardin.
“This event is essential to the sustained growth of the medical school, and it is truly a collaboration of community, student and alumni support,” Hardin said. “It has given me a wonderful opportunity to work with people like Julie and Jimmy Todd of Galaxy Distributing, who have been generous supporters since day one. There is a host of other dedicated people from the community who have worked tirelessly to make this event a success.”
Hardin said she has been motivated by one simple thing.
“I truly believe in the School of Medicine’s mission of producing primary care doctors to care for the people of Appalachia,” Hardin noted. “The money we raise allows them to begin their careers without incurring a staggering amount of student loan debt.”
It takes 35 to 45 medical student volunteers to serve as waitstaff each year. Holmes said Karl Shaver, now a fourth-year med student and class president, has taken the reins to gather up his fellow classmates to volunteer at the event.
“He has worked every year,” Holmes said. “He really believes in it, and he loves doing it.”
Holmes said sponsorships also drive the event and keep it growing from year to year. She said Kevin Fowler and Mike Sellards, presidents and CEOs of Cabell Huntington Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center, respectively, have been huge supporters from the start.
“Huntington’s two hospitals believed in this fundraiser from the beginning,” she said. “They have been our major sponsors every year. They are game changers.”
Co-chairs also play an important role in getting the word out about each year’s event, recruiting sponsors and bring awareness to a top-notch medical school.
Dr. Peter Chirico, senior partner at Radiology Incorporated and professor and chair of the department of radiology at Marshall’s medical school, helped chair the 2018 event along with his wife, Clare. Radiology Incorporated has also been a sponsor from the beginning.
“Standing Out in Our Field is a wonderful way to show appreciation for all the outstanding physicians not only in the medical school, but throughout the community as well,” Chirico said. “I believe the students benefit financially from the fundraising, but they also feel they are an integral part in making their school the excellent institution that it is. We are blessed to have this medical school in our community. Many of our graduates stay in the Tri-State and serve the people of this region.”
Holmes certainly agrees.
“One of the major economic engines in Huntington is Marshall University, along with the School of Medicine and Marshall Health,” Holmes explained. “We are so interwoven into the fabric of the community, it only behooves folks to want to see us succeed. And this annual fundraiser is one way they can help aspiring physicians on their journey.”
Those interested in being a sponsor for Standing Out in Our Field or volunteering can contact Holmes at 304-691-1711 or holmes@marshall.edu.
“Every year has grown and become more successful,” Holmes said. “A great time, a great cause and a great location. Those have been the three ingredients that make this annual event a winner.”
Michelle Goodman is a freelance writer living in Huntington, West Virginia.
Photos (from second top):
Linda Holmes helped turn the idea for a small dinner fundraiser to an event over 500 people attend each year.
(Left) Samantha Smith, pictured, and other Marshall University medical students helped serve dinner at the fifth annual event. (Right) Chefs for this year’s event included Cabell Huntington Hospital President and CEO Kevin Fowler, School of Medicine Dean Dr. Joseph Shapiro and Cabell Huntington Hospital Executive Chef Don Sallada.
This year’s theme was “Western Round Up,” and guests were encouraged to dress in their best western wear.
(Left) With their outstanding vocal harmonies and high energy, live music was provided by Santa Cruz Band. (Right) Dr. Andrea M. Lauffer (’10) hits the dance floor to enjoy one of the best parts of the evening.
In the past five years, the supporters of the event have given over $500,000 to support medical student scholarships.